Set 50 years before the reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" series, themes involving artificial intelligence, corporate responsibility and a tragedy that impacts the Graystone and Adama families play out in the series premiere. Eric Stoltz; Esai Morales.

Thursday, March 18

Earlier this year, Battlestar fans rejoiced at the arrival of Caprica, the latest project from the sci-fi franchise. Set 58 years before the events depicted in Galactica, the series - fronted by Alessandra Torresani- shows how robotic cylons first came to be. With life for the Graystones getting progressively worse as each episode airs, we decided it was time for a catch-up with series creator Ronald D. Moore to see if there's light at the end of the tunnel for sci-fi's most troubled clan.

What sort of reaction have you had to the series so far?
"I've had a very positive reaction. The fans have been very kind and people have been great in the online world."

Are you pleased with the ratings you've been getting?
"I think the ratings could be better but I'm encouraged that they have continued to climb over the last couple of episodes. I think that's good. I'm pleased."

Do you think you've successfully managed to win over Battlestar fans?
"Some yes, some no. It depends on what people were looking for when they came to the show. We made a big point of saying it was not like Battlestar, so people that came to the show presumably knew they were coming for something completely different."

Was it important for you to make this series different from the Battlestar franchise?
"Yeah. We decided very early on that if we were gonna do a spinoff series of Galactica, we wanted it to be something completely different. We didn't want to repeat ourselves with something that would be exactly the same."

How long have you had the idea for Caprica in your head?
"A couple of years. It started when Dave, Mike and I discussed a spinoff. We said if we did one, it could maybe be about the creation of the cylons, and then completely separately, another writer approached Universal about doing a TV series having to do with artificial intelligence. Universal suggested we all sit down and talk. We did, and through those discussions, Caprica was born."

How important was it for you to get the cast that you did?
"Really important. Battlestar lived and died by its cast, and this will too. It's a character-based drama, so it was really important to get a strong cast. We didn't have the same sort of wish list that we had for Battlestar. We looked around to see who was interested rather than approaching directly."

Zoe had a turbulent start to the series. Where does her journey take her as the season progresses?
"She struggles to figure out if she can get out of the robot body and leave Caprica. She's the Zoe avatar so she's not the original. What's her place in the universe? What can she do? Where can she go? She certainly feels like a person, so what's the difference? She's gonna face struggles and self-discovery."

Daniel and Amanda have grown apart in recent episodes. Will they ever be able to put the past behind them?
"It's been a difficult time - they've gone through a really traumatic event. We'll see that continue a bit more for them. I don't wanna give it away, but Amanda's dangers are not over."

Is it likely we'll see Daniel and Joseph becoming friends?
"All I'll say is that their storylines will start to intersect quite soon."

What can we expect from the season finale?
"A cliffhanger - multiple cliffhangers! We've just started general discussions for a second season, but we don't know if we're getting renewed yet. We know where certain stories would take us. I'm hopeful that we'll get picked up - I'm feeling good!"

In the event that you don't get renewed, will the season one finale serve well as a series finale?
"No! No - it would not be a satisfying way to end the show, I'll put it that way. It's fifty years before Battlestar, so we can't end it at any time we want. It depends how far ahead we want to jump in the story."

Caprica continues Fridays at 9pm on Syfy in the US and Tuesdays at 9pm on Sky1 in the UK.